Fóshuō Wénshūshīlì jìnglǜ jīng 佛說文殊師利淨律經
Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on Mañjuśrī’s Pure Vinaya translated by 竺法護 Zhú Fǎhù (Dharmarakṣa, 譯)
About the work
The Fóshuō Wénshūshīlì jìnglǜ jīng (T460) is a one-fascicle Mahāyāna sūtra translated by Dharmarakṣa 竺法護 (竺法護) in the Western Jìn. It is structured as a teaching of Mañjuśrī on the “pure Vinaya” (淨律) of the bodhisattva — i.e., the higher ethical and contemplative discipline that supersedes the prātimokṣa of the śrāvaka. The sūtra is organized into named chapters (品), opening with the Zhēndì yì pǐn 真諦義品 (“Chapter on the Meaning of Ultimate Truth”). The text is a parallel translation of the same Indic source as Qīngjìng pílóumén jīng 清淨毘樓門經 / Daśadharmika-sūtra tradition; the alternate Chinese title is Jìnglǜ pǐn 淨律品.
Prefaces
The text opens directly with the canonical opening formula and the chapter-heading “真諦義品第一”. The colophon attributes translation to “西晉月氏國三藏竺法護” (Dharmarakṣa, Tripiṭaka master of the Yuèzhī country, Western Jìn). No separate translator’s preface survives.
Abstract
This sūtra is one of three closely related Mañjuśrī texts translated by Dharmarakṣa preserved in the Taishō: T459 (KR6i0060 Wénshū huǐguò jīng), T460 (the present text), and T461 (KR6i0062 Xiànbǎozàng jīng). All three develop different aspects of the Mañjuśrī cult that became foundational for East Asian Mahāyāna. The Jìnglǜ jīng concentrates on the bodhisattva śīla (precepts/Vinaya), arguing that Mañjuśrī’s understanding of zhēndì (ultimate truth) is the foundation of all genuine ethical practice; the bodhisattva’s jìnglǜ (pure Vinaya) is not the formal prātimokṣa but the inner transformation of consciousness through wisdom.
The text is doctrinally close to the Aṣṭasāhasrikā and other early prajñāpāramitā literature in its emphasis on emptiness as the ground of ethics. It anticipates fifth- and sixth-century Chinese discussions of the bodhisattva precepts (e.g., the Brahmajāla-sūtra, the Dìchí jīng 地持經) by positing that genuine śīla is contemplative rather than performative.
Translations and research
- Boucher, Daniel. Bodhisattvas of the Forest and the Formation of the Mahāyāna. University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2008 — Dharmarakṣa context.
- Tribe, Anthony. “Mañjuśrī: Origins, Role and Significance.” The Buddhist Forum II (1991): 1–25.
- Funayama Tōru 船山徹. Bukkyō no shisō, Bukkyō no rekishi: Indo, Chūgoku, Nihon 仏教の思想・仏教の歴史 — discussions of Dharmarakṣa.